Terrible mother.

I was in the same situation as Kinra - Breeder fed live only and when I offered F/T Rat the first feeding they ate no problem. Only have one on live now that will not switch over. Feeding F/T can be more time consuming, Proper Thawing, Heating, Zombie Dancing etc, but can be much more convenient for most keepers.

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Originally Posted by el8ch

I was in the same situation as Kinra - Breeder fed live only and when I offered F/T Rat the first feeding they ate no problem. Only have one on live now that will not switch over. Feeding F/T can be more time consuming, Proper Thawing, Heating, Zombie Dancing etc, but can be much more convenient for most keepers.

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I've always wondered, how do you properly thaw a frozen mouse? If I remember correctly, I read that a lot of people soak them in warm water. How are you sure it's thawed completely?

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Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

I've always wondered, how do you properly thaw a frozen mouse? If I remember correctly, I read that a lot of people soak them in warm water. How are you sure it's thawed completely?

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On feed day, I take them out of freezer in the morning, and let them thaw for a few hours, then hit with blow dryer for some, or just toss in tub for others.

There are ways to prevent biting when feeding live, you just have to be super vigilant.

I feed all live, but the moment they strike (if it's a poor wrap) I will hold the rat's head firmly between my thumb and index finger until it's stunned enough to stop biting. I'll also put scrap cardboard in their mouth and keep their heads angled away from the snake's body. It's a little more involved, but thawing and heating F/T is too time consuming for me.

To kill a mouse- just take it by the base of the tail and swing into a hard surface. It should kill it INSTANTLY. You'll know by it urinating.

To Thaw- either leave it out all day, OR for faster thawing, I use hot water. I make sure that my mice are all the way thawed by giving them a nice little mouse massage. If I feel any cold spots, then they are not thaw. I dry the mice off afterwards with a towel and touch up with the blow dryer.

Or what I used to do because I was always scared to look at the mouse while killing. I used to have a canvas snake bag handy. Put 1 mouse in and whack against a shelf or hard surface. Take mousey out feed to snake. Now I just flick them. Yucky buggers. I did feel like a mousey murderer. I got over that quickly.


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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Or what I used to do because I was always scared to look at the mouse while killing. I used to have a canvas snake bag handy. Put 1 mouse in and whack against a shelf or hard surface. Take mousey out feed to snake. Now I just flick them. Yucky buggers. I did feel like a mousey murderer. I got over that quickly.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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How well does the flicking work? I've had tons of petstore workers tell me just to flick them but.. Rodents terrify me. Evil little buggers, they'll kill you when you're not looking.
But back to the flicking, does it kill them, or just immobilize them?

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Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

But back to the flicking, does it kill them, or just immobilize them?

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Never done the flicking to anything but a pinky, but in the end... dead or immobilized, it's not going to bite back!

I've had a terrible time trying to kill mice myself. I guess I'm not forceful enough, even when I hold them by the tail and whack them against something. They always wake up! :rolleyes:

anytime i feed live i wear a glove for 2 reasons one i can hold the tail of the rat if im not sure the snake will strike well (have a spider that really wobbles when foods around and wont look at f/t) and 2 if i let the snake hunt if a bad strike happens i just grab the top jaw of the rat and wait i know of a guy that uses chainmail glove :rofl::rofl: when dealing with rodents but leather seems to be good just remain vigilent if a live rodent is in your snakes enclosure